


Moonlight in Gotham

by Onlymostydead



Category: DCU, DCU (Comics)
Genre: Bat dad Bruce Wayne, Faerie!Tim Drake, Gen, Happy Ending, Mentioned Faerie!Janet Drake
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-14
Updated: 2019-01-14
Packaged: 2019-10-09 23:24:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,361
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17414534
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Onlymostydead/pseuds/Onlymostydead
Summary: Something isn't quite right about Tim, and Bruce wants to find out what it is. What he finds may change a lot of things, but others will always stay the same.





	Moonlight in Gotham

**Author's Note:**

> This was a 'request' from Yvonna on the discord! <3

There was always something different about him; something about Tim Drake just wasn't right.

Maybe it was how he looked; Bruce knew that he certainly didn't have the most common appearance. In terms of physical features, he certainly favored his mother. His black hair was always too silky, soft even when it by all means should have been dirty. His skin was generally clear, even though he was a teenager who didn't take very good care of it. Facial features were where his mother became most apparent, with his thin eyebrows, near identical nose, and monolid. Perhaps his lips were one of the only things that looked like his father's: more full, and always with a slightly pinkish hue.

His lips, and the pale grey-blue color of his eyes.

They were haunting, almost making Bruce think that he was blind when they first met at some charity gala, when Tim was only a small child. People made jokes about him not being a real child at all, since he was so well behaved. So well kept. Never once did he get up and sneak away, or make some unpleasant remark about one of Gotham's higher ups unfortunate appearances, like Bruce knew he had as a child.  
No, he sat and watched.

In his frame was maybe one of the most bizarre parts of his appearance: he never seemed to gain much muscle. It was clear when he grew stronger, when he had been training for a long time, but he always just looked the same. Skinny arms, slim shoulders, and stick-like legs. It was slightly creepy, to say the least.

But his appearance wasn't the creepy part.

Maybe it was how he seemed to come alive at night, Bruce wondered. Sure, Dick and Jason had done similar things, but... Never like this. Dick had lit up because of the freedom, the unrestricted movement that washed over him completely, the thrill of danger and the tang of success. Jason had liked seeing what good he had done, and what more he could continue to do. He was hungry to prove himself, to himself and to the world.  
"Being Robin gives me magic."

He always claimed it, but it was never anything more than a joke. With Tim, it almost seemed true. His pale skin seemed to glow, just a little bit, as if from within. Bruce got the sense that his eyes would too, if he removed the domino mask. Honestly, he was too afraid to do so.  
And it wasn't just the glow. Something about him changed, making his body seem stronger, his feet faster, his mind sharper. 

Maybe it was how his feet never seemed to make a sound. He had easily accounted it at first to growing up in a big house, not wanting anyone else to know that he was awake, or that he was moving around. That was how Bruce originally learned the skill, but Tim? It was something different. If he stepped on fall leaves on a dry day, they wouldn't crunch... if he didn't want them to. He could sneak up on anything, any time.

In so many ways, he was the perfect detective... But Bruce got a feeling that it wasn't because of his training. Tim could blend seamlessly into any crowd, disappearing without a trace. He could work his way around someone, talking circles until they finally admitted what he wanted to know. 

The people at the parties, at the galas, all came to mind. Bruce knew that they had been joking, he knew full well they didn't know what they were talking about when they alluded to him not being human. Rich people in Gotham viewed children as entertainment, and to have one be so eerily quiet? They would get all the entertainment try could by teasing him, making fun of his quiet, well-behaved nature. 

Though, all along, there had been something mischievous in those eyes.

It was the same thing that came out at night. The same thing that came out when he was fighting out on the streets. When he got fully immersed in a disguise, to the point where his face seemed to change entirely. When he hadn't slept for days, and he only seemed to gain more energy.

He knew they were joking wth the word "Changeling," but it felt more true than they could imagine.

Of course, there was no way he could say it. Tim would know if he asked someone who could give him answers; he would be able to tell if he asked someone like Zatanna, or Martian Manhunter, or Constantine. The only thing he could do was suspect in silence, gaining quiet information.

His skin did break out if he ate too unhealthily, but it didn't seem to be the oil. From the records Bruce had secretly put together, it appeared to be the levels of salt... Only, instead of acne, like a normal teenager would get, the welts appeared in more places than just his face. They made appearances on his face, his shoulders, his back, his hands strangest of all; and those were only the places Bruce had seen. It was odd, but when asked about the weird red spots on his hands, Tim had told Damian that it was eczema. 

Iron wasn't found in anything Tim had... In its pure form. There were alloys and covered iron and all sorts of other things like that, but never pure. Bruce was too afraid to touch any of it too his skin, worried that either something terrible would happen to Tim... Or, if he was honest, himself.

Though, he didn't think that he would actually hurt him. Though bizarre, he was never dangerous to him. This was still Tim that he was talking about. 

Other tests were either inconclusive or overwhelmingly negative, but that wasn't what sealed the information down for Bruce. What really confirmed what he was happened seemingly randomly: seeing what happened when he was under bedrest.

For one, Tim hated being confined to his room. Any time he was injured, he wanted to go out and do something. If he could move himself, he'd get to the batcave and work. If he couldn't, he'd ask if someone would bring him his latest case file. But always, always, whether he was allowed to or not, he did the same thing. He got up in the middle of the night, threw open the window, and leaned outside. At first, when Bruce had caught that on security tape, and it was too blurry to tell, he was worried that he was smoking... But that was quickly ruled out. He wasn't smoking at all; he was getting another fix.

A fix of moonlight.

It wasn't direct, sure, but Gotham must have gotten enough diffused moonlight through the clouds to keep Tim going. He had to be some kind of night faerie, that was clear. The salt, the iron, the apparent living for the night...

But also, the more he thought about it, he wondered how he hadn't seen it sooner. It wasn't just Tim, all along. Bruce wondered where he thought he had seen that eerily glowing skin before, the way the light seemed to make his teeth into fangs. 

Janet Drake.

The moment the idea came to him it hit like a punch to the gut. That was why he didn't break out worse whenever he decided to eat instant ramen noodles, or why he could touch metal alloys. That was why he looked so much like his mother. The faerie traits must be dominant.

Except the eyes, the eerie grey-blue eyes.

In the end, it didn't make any difference. Tim was still Tim... He just told Alfred that he thought he may be sensitive to salt. And of course, Alfred told him that Tim already let him know.  
And He was more careful when it came to iron around the cave, though Tim had never touched it before, and likely never would.

Even if it unnerved him, or made him question certain things, he loved his son. Faerie or no, that's what he was; and he loved him just the same.

**Author's Note:**

> You can find me on Tumblr at Supertinybats or Supertinywords, requests are closed but I'll open a slot soon, comments are love!


End file.
